F14 Aquarium Fish Feeder

I know alot of people don't trust auto-feeders, and for the most part they're right. However, the Fishmate F14 is a different type of feeder. It seems most of the negative reviews revolve around condensation getting their food soggy and preventing the unit from rotating. You know what nearly all of those reviews have in common? They're not hooking an air pump up to the air line attachment (more on that later in the review)! When I first got my unit, I did not use it either and had an issue with moisture after a few days. So I hooked up an air pump and, voila, problem solved! It's there for a reason, use it. Another thing worth mentioning, do NOT put anything on top of the feeder. It seems that any weight on the top cover has a very good chance of catching the rotating wheel and causing it to hang up. This feeder is absolutely fantastic, it's head and shoulders above the "drum" style feeders. As you can see, it's fundamentally different. The feeder has a rotating wheel with 15 compartments in it. At the front of the feeder, there is a hole the size of one of the compartments so that when the food is rotated over it, the food falls into the tank. The main benefit of this style of feeder is that you can put premeasured amounts of food in the unit, as well as different types of food. I need to feed 3 times of food to my community tank (flakes, algae wafers, shrimp pellets) and this feeder allows me to do this. That wouldn't be possible with the drum style feeders. And since each portion is premeasured, there's no worry of the feeder dumping too much or not enough food into the tank. The middle is like an automatic timer for lights, it does one complete rotation in 24 hours. You put the little reg pegs at the time you wish to feed, and when the time arrives, the mechanism rotates the food wheel one space. Instead of dumping the food all at once, it is slowly dispersed over the course of an hour and a half (the wheel slowly rotates every 15 minutes or so for the feeding). I like this, it gives the fish a better opportunity to eat all the food imo. You have the option of feeding anywhere from 1 to 4 times a day, meaning the feeder can feed your fish from anywhere from 3.5 days to 14 days depending on how many times a day you have it set to feed the fish. You only have slots for the red pegs every 3 hours, so your feeding times would could be midnight, 3am, 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, 6pm, or 9pm. This isn't an issue to me, but something worth noting. If you really want a specific time, you could offset the time of day on the feeder to correspond with your desired feeding times. There is also an air inlet on the bottom of the feeder you can hook an air pump up to. This is to help reduce moisture from entering the unit and getting your food soggy. The air flowing in the unit creates positive pressure and actually helps quite a bit. I use the air pump attachment and have had no issues with food getting wet. My feeder is just inches above the water line, and there is a decent amount of surface agitation from my air stone in the tank. Overall, I'm very pleased with this unit. I've even ordered a second one to feed my shrimp tank. With my job, I'm often away from home a week at a time, so a reliable feeder is of utmost importance to me. I've been using the Fishmate F14 for nearly 4 months now and have not had any issues. The unit is powered by one AA battery. The feeding compartments are small, and it can be difficult to get the food in the compartments when loading it. What I've found works best is to put your food on a piece of paper, and fold the paper once to create a type of "chute" so you can pinpoint where you want the food to go. Since doing that, I've had no issues getting the food exactly where I want it. Wow, that's quite a sales pitch, isn't it! I just want to make sure others know about this feeder since it appears to be the only feeder of this style. There is a similar style feeder, the Grässlin Rondomatic 400, but I can't find any place in the US that carries it, and it's more then twice the price of the Fishmate. So if you're looking for a feeder for your fish, look no further!

I do like the way it works, it's simple to see if it has fed, or is working. I've used two of the when I e gone on vacation for over a week multiple times. Most issue people have is how it's designed. I have mine up off the tanks about 6 inches from the water line, so I don't have issue with moisture, how ever there is an airline port to remedy this problem if you have it. I'm able to feed all types of food from mine but if you mix in one compartment, make sure you put the lightest food on top. IE flakes on top of pellets, or it will compress the flakes when it spins and then not drop into the tank. One stopped working, but I think Ive had it for over 3 years, use them every day and I dropped it into the tank one time. As for battery life, Ive never had one die, but I replace them right before I go on vacation every time, and I might take one or two per year. It's not louder than water movent or a clock for sure. I don't even notice them which is why it's hard to know if they stopped running. I can tell because I have two, that I stock same day, so if the numbers are off, one isn't working. Now I only have issues with the one I dropped into the tank previously intermittently not running, new batteries, took all the gears apart to dry but still have problems now. I will highly highly highly point out that you NEED to remove the ring and clean underneath it everytime you stock. If anything sits under the ring, other food will do the same and you'll have compounding issues. Make sure the ring is seated properly, and vmbe very careful moving it back to the tank as any bumps could move the ring our of place or bump it up and have food get under it, causing you to dump and start over, stocking it again. That's my biggest gripe. 4 stars for portion size, as it can feed my fully stocked 36 gallon, but that is the max it can do, with flake and pellets. Overall I would recommend this because the portions are controlled. Not possible to dump a complete 100ml container of food into your 10g in 2 days because the door shifted open like the barrel style feeders. I've looked around at others and can't find a better design thats as reliable. Even the updated green version knock off of this one has a attached ring making cleaning a pain and it costs more than this one. Plus it has a door that actuates open and closed which is another addition to fail especially since all the gears are plastic and the motors are as cheap as possible.

It's closer to 4.5 stars. I've used the drum autofeeders in the past and hated them because it's so hard to guess the opening for the right amount of food to dispense, and the moisture makes short, moldy work of flake food. I have 4 tanks, I bought one to try out: it was a bit frustrating at first because the tray moves/lifts off so easily that it took me 3 (irritating) tries to get the food in and the feeder situated on the aquarium. I learned it's very helpful to stick a fat pen (sharpie, etc) into the opening to keep it from spinning. The aquarium I tested it out on is 55 gal, and that has the LED light inserts - I just removed one of the lights, pulled back the plastic cover that protects the light, and set the feeder so that the opening was over the exposed water. It was too close to the water for the flake food, and I was not interested in hooking up an air pump, so I elevated it by putting some cut wood paneling pieces under it to raise it about 4". That helped tremendously, but sometimes the flakes still got too moist and wouldn't dispense because it stuck to the sidewalls of the tray. So rather than raise it anymore, I just opened the cover - viola! That did it. I have several different kinds of fish, so in addition to flakes, there are shrimp pellets, freeze-dried bloodworms, and algae tablets (broken into pieces. What makes this great is that it dispenses exactly the amounts of the different foods rather than random mixture from the drum-style feeders and this is what sold me. I have ordered 3 more for my other tanks - all of which I can make work in a very similar fashion. Do test it out before you go on vacation - make sure you've worked any of the bugs out and that you're confident it will work while you're gone. I was ready to get rid of my tanks because it was so stressful trying to arrange someone to come over to feed them while I was out of town, but now this has removed the stress and I'm glad that I can keep my fish tanks:) The cons are the irritation at how easily it is to mess up the food you so carefully distribute into each cell, just by a little bump (thus having to do it all over again), and the price - I don't see how in the world this thing should cost almost $25 - that's highway robbery for such a simple gadget (no LCD display or anything - just a simple clock mechanism and all plastic parts). But I'm obviously willing to pay it because it's a simple solution that works really well. *Update, I'll bump it up to 4.75 stars (still the price factor is ridiculous), but I did order the other 3 and have them all on my tanks. They work so well, I use them as everyday feeders (they were originally intended as vacation feeders only). Using them creates less wasted food because it dispenses a little at a time over an hour, so the fish have time to get it all rather than having some of it get sucked up in the filter. I have it feed them 2x a day - so once a week I fill all the feeders (it's helpful to remove the feeder, set it on a table, stick a fat pen (or something comparable) into the opening to stop the wheel from spinning, and use a small funnel when adding food to the chambers.)

Any review of this product needs to start with how it works which may not be readily apparent from the photos and description. The feeder is composed of a plastic ring divided into 14 equally sized compartments; the sections partition the food into the 14 different feedings. The timer in the middle moves one revolution in 24 hours and has spots to place 4 pegs; as these pegs near the top (12 o'clock) position, they engage with inside of the ring and over the course of about 2 hours push the ring around 1/14th of a revolution. This in turn pushes the compartment at 6 o clock over the opening and any food will fall into the water below. This is a rather simple mechanism but leads to some quirks that are the focus of this review. The first issue with this design is that the ring simply lays inside the feeder and isn't held very tightly. which means that the ring can rotate out of position easily. The design also means that if there is any food under the ring, it can lift it up and it will "miss" food; this practically means that you must put it down empty and then fill the compartments; if you need to pick the ring up for any reason you basically have to start over filling it. The documentation also states that it feeds over the course of two hours; while it might take two hours for the compartment to fully move over the hole, in practice the food gets piled up against the left wall of the compartment as it is pushed around in its path and ends up basically getting mostly dumped in at the end of the two hours. I am using Hikari micro pellets and loach wafers, and I would say if I have it set to feed at 6, most of the food will get dropped into the tank between about 7:30 and 8. It will also get pushed in, I haven't experienced where the food doesn't get dropped in, it just isn't as spread out in time as the paperwork would make it seem. Also, if you don't line the compartments up perfectly with the whole, you may get where it doesn't drop all of the food at say your 6am feeding; it will however push the remaining food in at the next set time. The other issue I have is that the times you can select are fairly inflexible; IIRC there are 6 possible feeding times; if you don't like then those are you can simply set the time on the feeder to compensate (for instance, if you don't want it to start at 6 but instead 7, set the time on the device an hour ahead). However, you cannot make the feedings closer together or spread out than what it is designed for. This isn't a huge huge issue but I would have liked more time options or one where I could set it any time I wanted. All of this being said, the feeder hasn't had problems with moisture which was my biggest fear; the pellets have stayed dry and I am not using the air tube option that the feeder has. It is fairly easy to load and to take on and off its mounting brackets, and when empty I can wipe it down to clean it. I also like that I can change what I am feeding the fish from day to day unlike other feeders; some days I include algae wafers for the snails and in others I put in some other foods that I don't give but a few times a week. I appreciate that I can load it on Sundays when I do water changes and don't have to worry about it; I do check it periodically just because that is how I am, but I really haven't needed to mess with it. I haven't had it long enough to check the battery life claim but I see no reason that it wouldn't last a long time; it is basically a wall clock mechanism and those seem to last a while. Overall I would recommend this feeder over the kind that rotate and dispense all the food; while it is a little fussy, I think that the more analog way this works is more reliable and I like the flexibility in food I can use. Overall it has been a good device and I'm glad we have it.

OK, I know 3 stars isn't a rave review. Normally I'd skip over a product that is so mediocre. But if you're willing to monkey with this a bit, it can come out a winner. I could't find a better automated feeder that would work with my tank. My setup is a 5 gallon glass cube tank with 1 Betta fish. I feed my fish with the tiny pellets. Pro's: + 14 Day Capacity - Assuming your fish only needs feeding one time a day, it's great for setting 2 weeks at a time + Multiple Feeding Times per Day - You can set multiple feeding times (up to 4 I think) per day. Just note that setting more than once a day will reduce the number of total days before the feeder needs refilling. Each space in the feeding tray (there are 14) represents a single feeding. + Feeds Slowly - The timer mechanism moves the feeding tray very slowly and gradually feeds the fish as it moves. Each feeding slot takes about and hour or so to fully move across the feeding hole. Cons + The Feeding Hole - The hole that the food drops through does not always align well with the movement of the feeding tray. My experience is that the feeding tray may not move far enough, and consequently, the food may not drop at the expected moment. Eventually it will push the food far enough during subsequent feedings, but why not design it properly to begin with? It was messing with the quantity of food that dropped at each scheduled feeding. To fix this, I got out my grinding tool and made the hole bigger. It took me a while to understand what the problem was, but once I diagnosed it, the bigger hole solved it. Before you go carving up your own feeder, I suggest testing your food and feeding patterns first to see what modifications are necessary, if any. + Moisture Build Up - This thing doesn't breath very well. I can get away with it using pellet food, but even then one or two pellets occasionally stick to the feeding tray and do not drop down into the tank. I have to imagine flake food would be more challenging. This does have the option to attach a simple air pump to circulate air directly into the feeder. Could help just enough to keep food from sticking. + Mounting Brackets - The aren't bad...they were intended for use on many types of tanks and get the job done. But they aren't awesome. My feeder doesn't sit very level above the tank. It doesn't affect the feeding, but since the feeder is such a prominent device on my tank, my OCD tendencies demanded better.

The Fish Mate F14 Aquarium Fish Feeder is a fantastic feeder to use when you're away from your fishtank for more than a week at a time. The feeder works very well to dispense pellets, dried bloodworms, and dried brine shrimp to my betta and African dwarf frog. To use, simply set the time on the unit, put in a peg (or multiple pegs if you plan on feeding more than one time a day) at the time you want the food to drop, then let the unit do its thing. The clock works like a kitchen timer - the peg rotates as the minutes tick away, and once it gets the designated feeding time, the peg helps move the large circular feeding tray to drop the food in the water. This unit doesn't work all that well with flake food, although it is advertised as being able to dispense it. This wasn't a huge issue for me as I can use betta pellets to feed my fish, but it would be nice if it worked better for the flake food for the guppies - luckily those greedy guys like betta pellets also. I've been using the unit since I originally ordered it in May - so far, it's run about 2 months on a single battery and it's worked flawlessly. We've refilled the unit every two weeks, and so far everyone is alive and well in the tank. I plan on changing out the battery before we go on vacation to make sure that the battery doesn't run out once we're gone. This feeder has worked so well that I just ordered a second unit for our other tank. One thing to note is that if you plan on feeding your fish twice a day that there's only enough slots for a weeks worth of food. If you feed once a day, this can hold two weeks of food. Overall, this is a really handy feeder to have and it will guarantee your fish will be fed the correct amount for the days that you're gone.

I was very hesitant to buy an auto feeder. I’ve read enough horror stories with regard to malfunctions, but needed to start looking into options while preparing for a 2 week honeymoon. My fish are good to skip a day, even two of feeding, but 2 weeks will be too long. This is far from perfect, but it does what you need it to do! It’s a little tedious to set up since you do it day by day, but once you get the hang of it it’s very easy to refill. I filled it and had it empty into a cup for a few days on my counter before putting it over the tank just to be super sure that it was functioning properly. You’ll have to play around with the timing but it’s easy to set once you understand. I have a community tank so I use a few different types of food including different size pellets, flakes, and blood worms. This auto feeder has no issue accommodating anything you put in because it’s basically just pushing each slot of food over a hole at whatever interval you set. I don’t feel like it’s all that sturdy hanging above the tank, and it definitely looks pretty slanted sitting up there, but it is what it is. You can hear time ticking in it sort of like a clock, but it’s not too loud. This definitely has its quirks, but I trust it a whole lot more than a drum auto feeder or a family member/friend who thinks the fish need to be fed more than what you leave out for them..! Overall 5 stars because while it’s a little cheap feeling, it does do exactly what it advertises!

I got the feeder because a well fed fish can usually fast two weeks, but I was gonna be out of town for three. It feeds the desired amount slowly over several hours which is nice. It is a pain in the butt to fill up because it’s very difficult to get it in the little holes without getting any in the middle area, which can clog up the mechanism and make it harder to move. I definitely recommend making some type of funnel out of paper with a small opening or purchasing one to fill it up. It takes about a 1/2 teaspoon of pellets per hole which is perfect for my 7 fancy goldfish. If you have a tank that’s littler than 50 gallons and have minimal filtration then probably don’t fill it up that much in case there’s any leftovers. I would fill up however, much your fish eats in 15 minutes, whether that be 1/4th a teaspoon or less. If you have this over an open top tank without any lid on it that prevents evaporation then your pellets are gonna get pretty gross by the end of four weeks once they’re soggy and disgusting. I cut a small hole in my lid to prevent this and it worked out great. The only issue is it’s difficult to line up the hole in the feeder to the hole in the lid and if you use your finger to try to press down through the hole into the hole of your lid to see where you’re at then you’re gonna spill all your pellets. I use a paper straw to see where I am on the lid to line it up. Overall, this is pretty great. I’m gonna be using it not just for vacation, but to try to grow out my fish a little bit bigger and feed them 2-3 times a day.

This is a great feeder. With separate compartments, it allows you to customise your feeds. I have a community tank and I like to feed the different species at different times to vary their meals. 14 compartments for 14 daily feeds or twice daily for 7 days etc. Four pegs to set meal times but I only use two. I work shifts so it's great to know that the fish get regular meals even when I'm working. Only complaint is that it turns very slowly, even when it comes to dispensing so the food is released slowly over the hour it is set to, as opposed to all at once. This means my greedy mollies manage to get most of it before the others. So I tend to make sure that each compartment contains some sinking and some floating foods to try and disperse them a little. And follow the advice if your using flakes because they will inevitably stick. I have my feeder a good distance from the tank and I leave the lid open to prevent humidity. I also mix the flakes with other bigger foods to help them drop. Super easy to clean as the whole tray comes out. Would definitely recommend.

Se fixe efficacement au bord de l'aquarium ou se pose tout simplement. 4 réglages d'heures possible à 3 heures d'intervalle par picot. 15 petits compartiments pour 14 doses de nourriture. Fonctionne vraiment bien. Je recommande ce distributeur de nourriture.

Ich hatte anfangs echt probleme dran zu glauben,das es funktioniert,aber echt klasse mit einer guten aufhängung funktioniert es tadellos,futterportionierung klappt richtig gut.Sollte man aber vorher im haus ausprobieren,dann klappts auch über dem teich

Going on a holiday,? who is going to feed the fish in the pond? This little device works well I use small pellets for goldfish and they survived me going away for 2 weeks.

Ottimo prodotto, semplice, fa il suo dovere alla perfezione. Se siete indecisi tra una mangiatoia a tamburo o questa, prendete questa senza pensarci due volte... PRO Scegliete voi la dose esatta di cibo da inserire negli scomparti, eroga 14 pasti totali, max 4 pasti al giorno, è predisposta per installare il tubo dell'areatore ed evitare così che il cibo diventi umido. MIGLIORABILE L'installazione sulla vasca è semplice ma a mio avviso un po' "a qualche modo"; i morsetti, a meno che non si mette un pezzo di cartone o gommapiuma per aumentare la presa sul vetro (che comunque avviene), sono di gran lunga migliorabili. Anche il sistema di posizionamento della stessa mangiatoia sui morsetti è altrettanto migliorabile... Sta in posizione ma sembra sia li lì per sbilanciarsi dato che sporge piu di 10cm dal bordo, ed è solo appoggiata a questi morsetti, nessun incastro od aggancio. Comunque obiettivamente fa il suo dovere. CONTRO Il manuale non è in italiano. È corredato di immagini ma se una persona non capisce una delle lingue disponibili (anericano, tedesco,francese, spagnolo o olandese), potrebbe comunque faticare a capire come impostare la mangiatoia. Per me comunque è un ottimo acquisto e lo consiglio!